Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) is going to start a special drive from Monday, April 20, to control drinking water wastage over the next 45 days as demand rises due to summer season.
Officials are going to take action against practices such as washing vehicles, overflow of sumps, and other misuse of water. Repeat offenders may face disconnection of water supply.
Hyderabad unlikely to face shortage of drinking water this summer
According to Managing Director K Ashok Reddy, the city is unlikely to face water shortage this summer as most water sources have enough reserves, except for Singur Reservoir.
The board is ready to supply up to 600 million gallons per day (MGD). However, due to issues in the Manjeera network, 570 MGD is currently being supplied.
For Singur, the state government has allowed the use of up to 8 TMC of water because of ongoing repair works. As a precaution, emergency pumping arrangements are also being set up to avoid inconvenience to residents.
Water tanker demand
The demand for water tanker has increased steadily. In January, the board recorded 1.08 lakh tanker trips which rose to 1.50 lakh trips in April.
Most of the demand is coming from areas like Durgam Cheruvu, SR Nagar, Kukatpally, Manikonda, and Hafeezpet.
Out of 14.5 lakh consumers, around 48,000 are frequently booking tankers, while others use them only when required. Officials said the rise in tanker demand is mainly due to falling groundwater levels.
On reports of change in water colour, K Ashok Reddy said there is no need for concern. He explained that the colour change in Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar is due to extreme summer conditions. He added that steps are being taken to ensure safe drinking water supply.
